Friday, January 18, 2013

We are just getting started with the 150th anniversary of what is arguably the most pivotal year – both in terms of events and attitudes – of the American Civil War. 1863 was a watershed in many regards and the events that will take place around the country this year will reflect the drastic shift towards emancipation.

Of interest for readers of this blog is the May anniversary of the establishment of the Bureau of Colored Troops. I am happy to report that I am working with the rest of the staff at Arlington House to plan an event on Saturday May 18th to commemorate the publishing of General Orders, No. 143. It will be the only NPS commemoration of this important event that I am aware of.

More to follow soon…

In other news, one unexpected surprise for me this year has been the amount of interest generated by my post about Elizabeth Keckly’s son, George W.D. Kirkland who enlisted as a white soldier and was killed at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. I have received many email and comments from folks wanting to know more about young Kirkland’s motives for enlisting in a white unit in Missouri when he was a mulatto student at Oberlin College in Ohio at the outbreak of the war, so I offer a few more thoughts for your consideration.

One obvious reason for enlisting in Missouri is the fact that Kirkland lived there in the 1850’s. Also, we must understand the men that Kirkland would have been enlisting with in 1861 – Missouri Germans, many of whom were veterans of the failed 1848 "Peasant Revolution”. To these recent immigrants, the aristocratic slaveholders (who went out their way to persecute the German elements of Missouri society) were just another incarnation of the oppressive ruling class that they had failed to defeat in the Fatherland. In fact, many of these German-Americans had flocked to join the Wide Awakes to show their support of Lincoln’s candidacy in 1860.

It would seem, then, that rather than joining a white unit out of some sort of shame felt about his mixed racial heritage, George Kirkland was enlisting to fight alongside like-minded, sympathetic individuals who were fighting specifically to strike a blow against slavery.

There is little doubt that these three books will contribute
to ongoing and vigorous debates on how freedom came during and after the
American Civil War. Those who think that emancipation was a gift from above
will draw sustenance from Holzer’s historicity. Those who link freedom with
white and black bayonets will be inspired by Dobak’s meticulous tome. Those who
seek moments of racial equality in America’s long tradition of racial exclusion
and inequality will appreciate the GAR’s history. But reviewing these three
randomly selected books together raises a vexing issue. Black troops fought to
preserve the Union and abolish slavery. Black veterans promoted an interracial
agenda--with all its limitations--far into the postbellum decades. In other
words, they were at the very heart of implementing freedom. The message that
emancipation was brought by Lincoln, Congress, the generals, abolitionists,
etc., however, serves not only to deny the agency of blacks in their own
liberation, but to deny them a very place at freedom’s table, which was taken
by representatives--Christian missionaries, northern business interests,
federal employees, etc.--who ended up defining what that freedom would become.
The United States continues to frequently foster this misguided understanding
of freedom economically and militarily around the globe today.

“Jimmy's book is excellent and highly recommended! …The honor was mine in being able to work with this fine author.” - Don Troiani, Historical Artist

“Thanks to Mr. Price’s diligent research, students of the war finally have a volume that details one of the most important, if not the most important, moments in United States African American military history.” - Jim Lighthizer, President, Civil War Trust

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Disclaimer

The views expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not reflect those of any group, organization, or institution.

About Me

Jimmy Price is a Museum Education Specialist with the US Army Women's Museum. An Air Force veteran, he received his M.A. in Military History from Norwich University in 2009. His first book, The Battle of NewMarket Heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword, was published in 2011. The Journal of Southern History claims “this slim volume offers considerable insight regarding the black military experience.” His second book, The Battle of First Deep Bottom was released to critical acclaim in 2014. Jimmy writes about different aspects of military history on his blogs Freedom by the Sword: A Historian’s Journey through the American Civil War Era andOver There: Blogging the AEF and WWI. He has contributed essays to A Companion to the Meuse-Argonne Campaign (edited by Edward G. Lengel), Hallowed Groundmagazine, and the International Encyclopedia of the First World War. He lives in Fredericksburg, Virginia with his wife and three children.